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An absolutely wild New York Giants blockbuster trade was suggested on ESPN’s Get Up on the morning of February 16 — and by a former NFL general manager, no less.
“I’m trading [Cleveland Browns quarterback] Deshaun Watson and a second-round pick to the New York Giants for Daniel Jones,” former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum voiced on Friday morning. Talk about bold.
“Here me out,” Tannenbaum continued, reasoning: “If you’re the Cleveland Browns, you have Dorian Thompson-Robinson, you have Joe Flacco and now, a 27-year-old Daniel Jones who has one year left of guaranteed money for $36 million and an enormous amount of flexibility moving forward.”
“If you’re the Giants, you’re getting Deshaun Watson who’s 29 — who’s making $46 million a year over the next three years — and a second-round pick,” the former NFL executive went on. “To me, [the Giants] need a frontline difference-making quarterback.”
Tannenbaum also made the point that Big Blue’s ceiling is not high enough to beat the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers of the NFC with Jones at quarterback.
“Deshaun Watson hasn’t played well last couple of years,” the current ESPN panelist acknowledged, “but he has a high upside and he’s only 29 years old.”
Breaking Down Likelihood of Bold Giants-Browns Trade Swap of Daniel Jones for Deshaun Watson
There are several potential variables to this trade but looking at it from a Giants perspective, one all-important factor determines the validity of the entire theory. Are head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen fans of Watson?
Forget the off-the-field questions for a moment — and that’s certainly something to consider. Watson is a very unique QB talent that has gone from rising superstar and consistent winner to borderline starter and constant injury risk over the past few years.
Watson did not have a QBR lower than 60.0 his first four seasons in the NFL, including a high of 83.5 as a rookie. With the Browns from 2022 through 2023, his QBR was in the low 40s (40.4 and 42.9) despite an 8-4 record.
Of course, his run of worsened play traces back to the lost campaign in 2021.
Watson also “underwent surgery [on November 21, 2023] to repair the displaced fracture to the glenoid in his right shoulder,” per ESPN. That injury to his throwing arm, plus the disaster of a contract Cleveland signed him to at $230 million guaranteed, has put the Browns in an uncertain situation.
They’d likely move Watson in order to rid themselves of his salary if an offer like this presented itself — but are the Giants really this desperate to land a quarterback?
The answer, in all likelihood, is no. Big Blue is currently looking to get themselves out of a bad QB deal, not take on a worse one.
An extra season of Jones is a low-risk flyer as Daboll and Schoen ponder the future. Acquiring Watson could mean ruining the franchise’s cap space for years to come.
LSU WR Malik Nabers Continues to Be Most Popular Giants Mock Draft Selection in 2024
Mock draft season has continued on NFL Network as content editor and draft strategist Dan Parr joined the majority in sending LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers to the G-Men at No. 6 overall.
“If the Giants are going to run it back with Daniel Jones, they might as well give him a true No. 1 wide receiver for the first time in his career,” Parr wrote. “Nabers has the talent to give the G-Men an element they have missed since Odell Beckham Jr.’s heyday.”
Having said that, there have been a few non-Nabers suggestions in round one of the most recent NFL Network mock drafts:
- Chad Reuter (Feb. 12): Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse.
- Cynthia Frelund (Feb. 9): Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze.
- Lance Zierlein (Feb. 5): Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga.
Fewer and fewer analysts have the Giants selecting a quarterback in round one of the draft after the team’s public commitments to Jones for the 2024 campaign.
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